


The Devil is in the Details

by ShelbyMarie



Category: Sugar Pine 7 RPF
Genre: M/M, Spooky Pine, Spooky Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:56:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShelbyMarie/pseuds/ShelbyMarie
Summary: 4 times Steven told Cib to go to hell and the 1 time Cib listened.





	The Devil is in the Details

If Cib had known what he was getting himself into would he have responded to the pleas for help all those years ago? After all, a suffering vampire would have been no skin off of his hypothetical nose. However, his foresight had never been his strongest feature. 

The first time it happened Cib had been minding his own business when he heard a desperate soul crying out for relief. He figured it would be a one and done job. He appeared before the man, who looked weaker than Cib had ever seen a vampire look, not that he had much experience with them in the first place. He was clearly underfed and the chains couldn’t be helping.

“You rang?” Cib asked. The vampire’s head nodded ever so slightly. “I don’t do things for free, this will cost you ya know,” He continued. A noise escaped the vampire’s lips that Cib supposed he could accept as a deal. The rules were looser about that sort of thing back then. He snapped his fingers and the chains fell off, dropping the man to the ground. “You stay here, I’ll be back,” Cib promised. He willed himself to materialize somewhere just outside of the musty place he’d been called to, hoping that there would be people nearby. 

Luckily enough there was a young couple just around the corner. Cib waited a second before making a judgement call and possessed the body of the young male. He pushed passed the girl with a mumbled excuse about a forgotten prior engagement and quickly made his way down the few flights of stone stairs to the starving vampire. He barely had time to jump out before the vampires fangs were sunk into the mans neck. Cib watched with intense curiosity as he drank deeply, sucking the poor man completely dry. The vampire wiped the blood from his mouth onto his tattered shirtsleeve and stuck his other hand out for a handshake.

“Thank you,” he said, a little breathless. 

“No problem uh…”

“Stephen, sorry. My name is Stephen.”

“Well Stephen today’s your lucky day. Saved by the notorious demon ‘Cib,’ I’m sure you’ve heard the name,” Cib didn’t stop to allow him to say otherwise, “Now about our arrangement. I’d normally take a soul but you don’t seem to have any of those around here. Let’s say this one’s on me.”

` “Oh, well, thank you,” Stephen said awkwardly. He shuffled a few steps away from Cib’s glowing form. He clearly wanted to be on his way. 

“Was the food good? Did I choose well?” Cib asked, something  glinting behind his piercing blue eyes. “Or would you have preferred the girl?”

“No, uh. It was fine. I lean more towards men usually,” Stephen began to blush. “They’re heartier and uh. Just better.” He shuffled a couple of steps away from  Cib’s glowing form “Don’t you have to, go collect actual souls now or whatever?”

“That’s what you’d like isn’t it” Cib grinned. “I was thinking about sticking around. I’ve never met a gay vampire before.”

“Oh, fuck you,” he spat.

“You’d like that wouldn’t ya?” Cib said with that awful glint still in his stupidly blue eyes.

“Go to hell,” Stephen knew then, that it was going to be a long immortal existence.

  
  


The next time it happened Cib deserved it. He had purchased several little vials from a man who looked just shady enough to conduct this kind of deal with. All the viles full to the halfway mark with reddish liquids of varying viscosities. They all had neatly pressed, handwritten labels.  _ Fairy, ghoul, mermaid, zombie.  _ He hadn’t wanted the zombie blood but the man gave it to him anyway, thinking Cib was a human, he’d wanted to give him a way to protect himself. As if Steve could ever hurt him. He could however, spoil Cib’s fun.

“Cib I’m not drinking that, Jesus,” Steven said upon seeing an unmarked vial of blood began shoved his way. “Do you know what different blood can do to a guy?”

“Yeah, dude why do you think I want you to drink it?It’s not zombie or anything like that.”

Steven pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. He’d known Cib long enough now to know that he wouldn’t let this go. But he really didn’t like the way Cib was smiling at him.

“Okay but just a sip, Cib, and if I get paralyzed or something, I’ll-”

“Oh you’ll what, kill me?” Cib chuckled a little, forcing the vial into Steve’s hands. The fluid seemed thin when Steven shook it around so it couldn’t have been any of the real bad stuff, With another little swirl and a sigh he downed the whole thing. It slid quickly down his throat. The taste was familiar but at the same time entirely foreign. 

“Okay the joke’s over, watch Steven try to stomach unfamiliar blood, now what was it?” Steve asked, feeling his insides begin to react. 

“That’s what they call mermaid’s blood, in the business, Steve. We should probably get you to your pool, dude,” Cib said, the wicked grin on his face somehow growing even larger. Steven groaned, already dreading the transformation. He’d never gone through it but it couldn’t be comfortable to have your legs fuse into a tail. He should’ve refused, Cib might have gotten bored eventually and left him alone. However it was always nicer when Cib was happy rather than gloomy and Steven brushed it off as trying to stop Cib from being annoying. Really he put up with this for himself. 

Cib helped Steven to the pool and tried to film him on the sly. Subtlety was never one of his strong suits and Steve noticed immediately. 

“Cib, turn that off! You can’t show that to people,” Steven tried to grab the phone from the pool. Unfortunately for him Cib just took a few steps back. His legs were already mostly fused and so he couldn’t chase him. “Give it back!”

“Tell it to the livestream Steve,” Cib zoomed in on his face before shrugging and tossing the phone into the pool.

“Damn it Cib, that’s expensive. Just, ugh, go to hell why don’t you!”

 

The third time Steven said it it was the least important. Cib barely even heard it, didn’t give it a second thought. Steve had been in a bad mood all day and Cib had tried so much to cheer him up. He even brought Parker over but the zombie boy wasn’t in a good mood either so the two had just moped on Steven’s couch. Cib had brought him fresh blood and Steve thanked him and drank it slowly. 

“Steve, glisten, just tell me what’s wrong,” Cib demanded.

“It’s nothing I-”

“Please,” he pleaded. And something in Cib’s eyes convinced Steven to tell him.

“I have new fang growing in and it really hurts but I don’t have dental or anything and all the cheap dentists around here wouldn’t take to me very well.”

“I had no idea,” Cib pause before breaking out into a grin. 

“What- Why are you smiling like that? I’m in immeasurable pain.”

“I just realized when you should go to the dentist, dude,” Cib said in a sing-song voice.

“Okay, when do you think?”

“The best time to go to the dentist, even for a vampire is two-thirty!” Cib waited expectantly for a reaction. And boy did Steve deliver.

He bent over, shaking with laughter, taking in short sharp breaths. The laughing hurt his teeth and the joke wasn’t even funny but for some reason he couldn’t stop laughing. In between wheezy breaths he managed to choke out a “go to hell” but for the first time that day he was truly happy. He’d been noticing that more lately. Cib being able to make him happy when nothing else could. Again he shrugged it off. Of course Cib knew him best he hadn’t left him alone in hundreds of years.

 

The penultimate time was not long after the third. Cib knew he shouldn’t have been bothering Steve so soon after his tooth surgery but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to be around him all the time and the only way to keep himself from thinking that forbidden word was to be an asshole. He often suspected that Steven didn’t care near as much as he pretended to. 

Steve was editing a video when Cib made his way into the room. He stood over the vampire’s shoulder and peered down at the screen. It was something with James and Parker that looked lame.

“Whatcha doin Steve?” He asked, despite having already seen it.

“I’m editing, don’t you have eyes?”

“Come on can’t we do something else?” Cib suggested with an eyebrow waggle. “Something more exciting?”

Steve didn’t acknowledge his offer and just kept editing. Cib frowned and out his arm over his chest. Fine. If Steve was going to be this way. He took out his cell phone and dialed his home number, putting it on speaker. The call clicked on and the room was immediately filled with the sounds of eternal tortured screaming. Cib glued a look of boredom on his face and pretended he was listening to something specific in the cacophony. Steve turned around angrily. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He growled.

“Well it looks like a work day in the office, I’m just doing what you want me to,” he replied with a stone cold expression.

“God you know what? You’re the worst, Cib and I mean that,” Steve said. But he didn’t mean it and they both knew that. “Sometimes I wish you’d go back to hell, or just. Have never saved me in the first place.”

“Oh really?” 

“No not really, turn that off and get over here,” Steven sighed. Cib winked at him. It seemed these days he always got what he wanted. And that was just fine for both of them.

  
  


The final time Cib was not expecting it. Of course he’d never expected any of this. Never expected to stay on earth for so long, never expected to rescue a malnourished twink of a vampire. He certainly never expected to use the L word again. Not after he sold his soul for it all those years ago. But there are some things you can never foresee, even if you’re a powerful demon from hell. 

Cib was never one to pay attention to the calendar days, and Steven was never the gift giving type. so it was a surprise when Steven gave him a bouquet of roses and rubbed his hand on his own neck awkwardly. The roses were deep red and there was a single black rose in the middle.

“I know roses have a meaning usually, but uh. I just thought you’d like the black one,” Steve mumbled with a slight shrug. 

“Thanks?” Cib replied. He wracked his brain for a reason for these. It wasn’t his birthday, not that Steve celebrated it anyway. It wasn’t Valentine’s Day and besides they weren’t exactly a couple. “What’s going on?”

“Well today’s the anniversary of the day we met,” Steve wrung his hands together nervously. He looked tired and Cib could tell he hadn’t eaten for a few days. 

“Oh,” Cib chuckled a little. He wasn’t ready for this. There were repercussions Steve didn’t even know about but Cib would endure them for him. Just not now. He couldn’t explain it now and he had to explain it before he left.

“Cib I. You know I’ve never been good with emotions but I’ve never felt this way about anyone. You make this dreary existence seem less boring and it’s like when I’m around you it’s all worth it. The years of suffering before I met you seem worth it. I think I love you,” Steve said. Clearly this was something he’d rehearsed because he got more confident as he spoke. He stood there waiting for Cib to respond. For him to reciprocate. 

“Steve… I. Can’t accept this right now, okay?” He tried to sound gentle but probably came off as an asshole as usual.

“What?”

“Look it’s not that I don’t love you okay? I just can’t right now-”

“What the fuck does that even mean? You can’t right now? Do you know how hard that was for me?”

“Steve, please just look where I’m coming from, you don’t understand,” Cib was beginning to raise his voice, but so was Steven.

“Look where you’re coming from? You bound yourself to me all those years ago, that was your choice, not mine! What was I going to do, not fall for you? With your stupid blue eyes and your idiot grin? It’s not my fault you don’t have the shred of decency required to stop playing me along like some lovesick teenager okay? God, I thought I could trust a demon. After all this time, I thought I could trust you,” Steve shouted, fighting back tears. Cib knew he didn’t mean the words that he said. That he’d be more understanding if he’d been eating right. This didn’t stop the words from hurting.

“Steve, I’m sorry,” Cib whispered, looking anywhere but into his eyes.

“You can take your apology to hell for all I care,” Steve  said, knocking the flowers out of Cib’s loose grip and used the last of his energy to transform and fly off into the evening.

Cib knew what he had to do. He picked up the single black rose and made his way slowly back to Steven’s place, giving him plenty of time to have gotten there and locked himself in his room. Sure enough, Steven’s bedroom door was shut tight when Cib got there. He went to his own room and got out a piece of blank parchment and his favorite feather pen and an ink well. If he was going to do this he was going to do it right. As the evening dragged on he wrote it all out.

_ Dear  _ _ Stephen  _ _ Steven, _

_ I’m sorry that I hurt you earlier today. I would never do that to you on purpose, you mean too much to me. Perhaps more than you even know. It’s true that I do love you, I love you more than I’ve loved anyone in a long time. I’ve been fascinated by you since we met, dude. Is it uncouth to say “Dude,” in a love letter? Maybe so. But we have never been the most eloquent of lovers. It is unfortunate that now is the only time I’ll get to tell you these things. I’ll never whisper beautiful words in your ear. An immortal life is a cruel mistress with rules I could not begin to comprehend. I will try to explain them as best I can. _

_ While I’ve known you for hundreds of years and have been like this since long before you,there was a time when I was a mortal man. I lived a simple life, mostly. It was difficult to live any way but simply back then. There was a girl whom I loved more than anything at the time. She became gravely ill, in the way good people too often do. I prayed to God and Jesus and any good guy who would listen for days with no answer. I was desperate, Steve. I pleaded to the opposition and got an immediate response. A simple contract. My soul for her life. I did it in a heartbeat. Given the chance I’d do it again. Given the chance, I’d do that for you, too.  _

_ However the devil is in the details as much as he was there that day. The fine print. Because I traded my soul for love I’m no longer allowed to have it. I can feel it but I’m not allowed to indulge in it. As soon as I utter the words I’ll be sent back to hell to be punished. It’s fitting that in your moment of anger you wished me there.  _

_ I’m not upset. I’d do everything the same, Steven. I’d save your life and fall in love with you a thousand times. I can’t ask you to wait for me to come back but you can’t expect me not to tell you how I feel now that I know you feel the same way. Someday I’ll be allowed to make deals and I’ll find you. Do not wait for me. I hope you’re happy when I do. I love you a million times over Steven Suptic. Thank you for reminding me of something I’d forgotten over my time spent in the underworld. That love is worth it. Don’t forget me, Idiot. _

_ Love,  _

_ Cib _

 

When he was finished writing he folded up the tear-stained page and stood from his chair. It had taken him hours to find the right words to say. He sealed it with wax from a red candle. He knew Steve would appreciate the old-fashionedness of it all. He crept down the hall and placed his ear to Steven’s door. There was no noise except a single soft snore. He opened the door and set the letter on the nightstand. He gently laid next to Steven’s sleeping form and sighed. He was ready. Steven, still mostly unconscious, wrapped his arms around Cib and cuddled his head under his chin. Cib breathed in the scent of Steven, and gently whispered, “I love you.” 

When Steve awoke to light filtering into his room he was disappointed to see that Cib wasn’t there. He’d expected to find him curled up next to him, they never fought and went to bed angry. He rubbed his eyes and put his glasses on, reaching for the letter on the bedside table.

**Author's Note:**

> I wish someone else had written this bc I know anyone else could've done this better lmao


End file.
